Valvular heart disease in women of childbearing age poses an increased risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, and management in pregnancy can be challenging. Ideally, patients with suspected valvular disease should have preconception counseling by a multidisciplinary team including cardiologists with expertise in pregnancy and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. Preconception planning should include a cardiac assessment of maternal risk, determination of frequency of surveillance, and a cardiovascular management plan during delivery...

BACKGROUND: Peri-partum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a clinical heart failure that usually develops during the final stage of pregnancy or the first months following delivery. High maternal serum uric acid concentrations have been previous associated with heart failure and preeclampsia. OBJECTIVES: 1) To explored the clinical characteristics of PPCM patients; and 2) to determine the association between maternal serum uric acid concentrations and PPCM. METHODS: This is a retrospective population based case control study...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy reflects the presence of cardiac failure in the absence of determinable heart disease and occurs in late third trimester of pregnancy or up to 6 months postpartum. A full understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms is lacking, but excess prolactin levels, haemodynamic alterations, inflammation and nutritional deficiencies have all been implicated. Its clinical presentation has distinct overlap with physiological alterations in healthy pregnancy and this presents a diagnostic challenge...

Background Limited literature is available assessing nephrotoxicity with prolonged beta-lactam infusions. This study compared the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with a prolonged beta-lactam infusion (PI) or an intermittent infusion.Methods. This was a retrospective, matched cohort study at an academic medical center from July 2006 to September 2015. Adult patients who received piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP), cefepime (FEP), or meropenem (MEM) for at least 48 hours were evaluated. Patients were excluded for pre-existing renal dysfunction or pregnancy...

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute and reversible heart failure syndrome, usually occurring in females but rarely in the peripartum period. In women with a history of peripartum TTS, it is unclear how to manage subsequent pregnancies. A 39-year-old female with a history of peripartum TTS complicated by cardiogenic shock became pregnant again. She underwent close cardiological follow-up for monitoring left ventricular systolic function and hemodynamic conditions. Epidural anesthesia was preferred to avoid catecholamine surge during cesarean delivery...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Altered nutrients during the in utero (IU) and/or lactation (L) period predispose offspring to cardio-renal diseases in adulthood. This study investigates the effect of a high fat diet (HFD) fed to female mice during IU/L on gene expression patterns associated with heart and kidney failure and hypertension in male offspring. METHODS: Female wild type (WT) mice were fed either a HFD or control chow (C) prior to mating with males with a genetic heterozygous deletion of GLUT4 (G4+/-, a model of peripheral insulin resistance and hypertension) and throughout IU/L...

I was a second-year neonatal-perinatal fellow in a meeting between other members of the neonatal intensive care team and parents who had just received devastating news about their planned-for and highly desired baby, born after what had been an uncomplicated pregnancy. At home, a little sister was waiting to meet her new brother. These conversations are never easy, but this one I found particularly disturbing. John had been born at term via emergency cesarean section after his mother, Muriel, had come for a routine obstetrical visit and reported decreased fetal movement...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an idiopathic cardiomyopathy presenting with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction towards the end of pregnancy or in the months following delivery, where no other cause of heart failure is found. We report a case of a woman with PPCM who developed a critical cardiogenic shock with repeated cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We show for the first time that mechanical circulatory support combined with high-dose bromocriptine therapy to suppress systemic prolactin levels may serve as an effective therapeutic option in patients with fulminant PPCM and cardiogenic shock...

I searched the NIH Medline database through January 2017 for long-term studies of morbidity and air pollution and cataloged them with respect to cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, diabetes, hospitalization, neurological, and pregnancy-birth endpoints. The catalogue is presented as an online appendix. Associations with PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were evaluated most frequently among the 417 ambient air quality studies identified. Associations with TSP, carbon, ozone, sulfur, vehicular traffic, radon, and indoor air quality were also reported...

Fetal sex plays an important role in modifying the course and complications related to pregnancy and may also have an impact on maternal health and well-being both during and after pregnancy. The goal of this article is to review and summarize the findings from published research on physiologic and pathologic changes that may be affected by fetal sex and the effect of these changes on the maternal and obstetrical outcomes. This will help create awareness that fetal sex is not just a random chance event but an interactive process between the mother, the placenta, and the fetus...

INTRODUCTION: Female sex is a risk factor for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Previous literature suggests that some diastolic dysfunction (DD) develops during pregnancy and may persist postdelivery. Our objective was to examine the relationship between parity and cardiac structure and function in a population-based cohort. METHODS: Participants included 1172 Hispanic/Latina women, aged ≥45 years, enrolled in the Echocardiographic Study of Latinos from four US communities (Bronx, Miami, San Diego and Chicago)...

Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy-specific vascular disorder characterized by new-onset hypertension and proteinuria during the second half of pregnancy. Predisposition to preeclampsia is in part heritable. It is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. We have sequenced 124 candidate genes implicated in preeclampsia to pinpoint genetic variants contributing to predisposition to or protection from preeclampsia. First, targeted exomic sequencing was performed in 500 preeclamptic women and 190 controls from the FINNPEC cohort (Finnish Genetics of Preeclampsia Consortium)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To define the magnitude of problems faced by patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) and to identify unmet needs for this population. RECENT FINDINGS: The ACHD population is estimated to include more than 1 million people in the United States and continues to grow at a steady rate. Owing to the decline in early mortality in this group, modern medicine is now faced by the long-term complications associated with congenital heart disease such as chronic heart failure, increased endocarditis risk, elevated burden of arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, valvular dysfunction, and pregnancy...

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant condition with a prevalence of ~1 in 5,000 individuals. The pathophysiology of this condition centers on the lack of capillary beds between arterioles and venules, leading to direct contact between these vessels. This results in telangiectases on characteristic locations such as the face, fingers, mouth, and nasal mucosa. Visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are also observed in many patients, and these are most commonly seen in the brain, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs...

AIM: Population-based European studies of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) are few. We aimed to estimate the nationwide incidence and outcome of PPCM in Denmark during 2005-2014. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Danish National Birth Register and the Danish National Patient Register were linked and searched for cardiomyopathy and heart failure ICD-10 diagnoses in a period of nine months before to 12 months after a delivery from 1 January 2005 through 31 December 2014. Diagnoses were validated and additional data were extracted from patient charts...

OBJECTIVES: Pregnancies following a diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) are associated with increased risk for maternal morbidity and mortality. Yet patterns of contraceptive use and reproductive counseling have received little attention. This nationwide registry-based study sought to evaluate patterns and clinical characteristics associated with contraceptive use, and examine the prevalence of contraceptive counseling in women with PPCM. METHODS: From December 2015 to June 2016, 177 PPCM patients (mean age of 34...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to describe the echographic features and perinatal outcomes of fetuses with absence of ductus venosus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective review of 10 cases with absence of ductus venosus diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography between January 2014 and February 2016 at a single referral center. Prenatal findings, umbilical shunting type, perinatal outcomes, and autopsy reports were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 11 491 fetuses underwent a first- and second-trimester screening during the study period...